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The Battle of Lopera took place between 27 and 29 December 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. This battle took place during the Nationalist's Aceituna offensive. On 27 December, the XIV International Brigade launched an attack in order to occupy the Nationalist-held town of Lopera, but the attack failed after two days and the Brigade suffered appalling casualties.

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In December 1936, Queipo de Llano started an offensive in order to capture the olive-growing area of Andújar, province of Jaén. The Republic then sent the recently formed XIV International Brigade to the Andújar front, in order to retake the town of Lopera occupied by the Nationalists on 24 December.[2]

On 27 December, the Brigade launched an attack in order to recover the town of Lopera. The XIV International Brigade (3,000 men), led by General Walter, had no training or telephone communications. Furthermore, they did not have air or artillery support. On this front the Nationalists had Commander Redondo's column with a shock brigade of Andalusian requetes (2,000 men) and 2,000 Moroccan regulares and Spanish cavalry.[3] The brigadists were decimated by the Nationalists with machine gun fire, mortars and artillery. After 36 hours the attack was called off.[4]

The Brigade had lost 800 men (300 dead),[5] among them the English poets, John Cornford and Ralph Winston Fox.[6] The English company of the 10th battalion lost 78 men out of 145.[7] After the battle, André Marty ordered the detention of the commander of the French battalion of the Brigade, Gaston Delasalle. Delasalle was accused of incompetence, cowardice and of being a fascist spy, and executed by firing squad.[8][9]

1.
Spanish Civil War
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Ultimately, the Nationalists won, and Franco then ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from April 1939 until his death in November 1975. Sanjurjo was killed in an accident while attempting to return from exile in Portugal. The coup was supported by units in the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, Pamplona, Burgos, Zaragoza, Valladolid, Cádiz, Córdoba. However, rebelling units in some important cities—such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, and Málaga—did not gain control, Spain was thus left militarily and politically divided. The Nationalists and the Republican government fought for control of the country, the Nationalist forces received munitions and soldiers from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, while the Republican side received support from the Communist Soviet Union and leftist populist Mexico. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, operated a policy of non-intervention. The Nationalists advanced from their strongholds in the south and west and they also besieged Madrid and the area to its south and west for much of the war. Those associated with the losing Republicans were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists, with the establishment of a dictatorship led by General Franco in the aftermath of the war, all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of the Franco regime. The war became notable for the passion and political division it inspired, organized purges occurred in territory captured by Francos forces to consolidate the future regime. A significant number of killings took place in areas controlled by the Republicans, the extent to which Republican authorities took part in killings in Republican territory varied. The 19th century was a turbulent time for Spain and those in favour of reforming Spains government vied for political power with conservatives, who tried to prevent reforms from taking place. Some liberals, in a tradition that had started with the Spanish Constitution of 1812, sought to limit the power of the monarchy of Spain, the reforms of 1812 did not last after King Ferdinand VII dissolved the Constitution and ended the Trienio Liberal government. Twelve successful coups were carried out between 1814 and 1874, until the 1850s, the economy of Spain was primarily based on agriculture. There was little development of an industrial or commercial class. The land-based oligarchy remained powerful, a number of people held large estates called latifundia as well as all the important government positions. In 1868 popular uprisings led to the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of the House of Bourbon, two distinct factors led to the uprisings, a series of urban riots and a liberal movement within the middle classes and the military concerned with the ultra-conservatism of the monarchy. In 1873 Isabellas replacement, King Amadeo I of the House of Savoy, abdicated owing to increasing pressure. After the restoration of the Bourbons in December 1874, Carlists and Anarchists emerged in opposition to the monarchy, alejandro Lerroux, Spanish politician and leader of the Radical Republican Party, helped bring republicanism to the fore in Catalonia, where poverty was particularly acute

2.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth

3.
International Brigades
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The International Brigades were paramilitary units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organisation existed for two years, from 1936 until 1938, the headquarters of the brigade was located at the Los Llanos Air Base, Albacete, Castilla-La Mancha. They participated in the Battle of Madrid, Jarama, Guadalajara, Brunete, Belchite, Teruel, Aragon, most of these ended in defeat. For the last year of its existence, the International Brigades were integrated into the Spanish Republican Army as part of the Spanish Foreign Legion. The organisation was dissolved on 23 September 1938 by Spanish Prime Minister, Juan Negrín, the largest number of volunteers came from France and communist exiles from Italy and Germany. A large number of Jews from the English-speaking world and Eastern Europe also participated, as a security measure, non-Communist volunteers would first be interviewed by an NKVD agent. By the end of September, the Italian and French Communist Parties had decided to set up a column, Luigi Longo, ex-leader of the Italian Communist Youth, was charged to make the necessary arrangements with the Spanish government. The Soviet Ministry of Defense also helped, since they had experience of dealing with corps of volunteers during the Russian Civil War. The idea was opposed by Largo Caballero, but after the first setbacks of the war, he changed his mind. However, the Soviet Union did not withdraw from the Non-Intervention Committee, probably to avoid conflict with France. The main recruitment centre was in Paris, under the supervision of Soviet colonel Karol Walter Świerczewski, volunteers were sent by train or ship from France to Spain, and sent to the base at Albacete. However, many of them went by themselves to Spain. The volunteers were under no contract, nor defined engagement period, there were also many unemployed workers, and adventurers. Finally, some 500 communists who had exiled to Russia were sent to Spain. The operation was met with enthusiasm by communists, but by anarchists with skepticism, at first, the anarchists, who controlled the borders with France, were told to refuse communist volunteers, but reluctantly allowed their passage after protests. A group of 500 volunteers arrived in Albacete on 14 October 1936 and they were met by international volunteers who had already been fighting in Spain, Germans from the Thälmann Battalion, Italians from Centuria Gastone Sozzi and French from Commune de Paris Battalion. Among them was British poet John Cornford, men were sorted according to their experience and origin, and dispatched to units. In 30 May 1937, the Spanish liner Ciudad de Barcelona, the ship sunk and up to 65 volunteers are estimated to have drowned

4.
German involvement in the Spanish Civil War
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The Soviet Union sent in smaller forces to assist the Republican government, while Britain and France and two dozen other countries set up an embargo on any munitions or soldiers into Spain. Germany also signed the embargo but simply ignored it, the war provided combat experience with the latest technology for the German military. However, the intervention also posed the risk of escalating into a war for which Hitler was not ready. He therefore limited his aid, and instead encouraged Mussolini to send in large Italian units, Francos Nationalists were victorious, he became an informal ally of Germany, while remaining neutral in the Second World War. The Spanish episode lasted three years and was a prelude to the world war which broke out in 1939. It further provided an opportunity to men and test equipment. Hitler decided to support the Nationalists in July 1936, the German air force was used to carry the Army of Africa to Spain. A Spanish-German Spanish-Moroccan Transport Company and an entirely German company, the Raw Materials, German transports moved nearly 2,500 troops from Spanish Morocco to Spain. Early intervention helped to ensure the Nationalists successes in the initial stages. The training they provided to the Nationalists proved as valuable, if not more so, Germany signed the Non-Intervention Agreement on 24 August 1936, but consistently broke it. After a Republican air attack on the German warship Deutschland, Germany and Italy said they would withdraw from the Non-Intervention Committee, early June 1937 saw the return of Germany and Italy to the committee and patrols, but they withdrew from patrols following a further attack. The German military in Spain, who were later reorganised and renamed the Condor Legion and they lost 72 aircraft due to hostile action and another 160 to accidents. German aid to the Nationalists amounted to approximately £43,000,000 in 1939 prices, German air crews supported the Nationalist advance on Madrid and the relief of the Siege of the Alcázar. The Condor Legions aircraft were accompanied by two armoured units, by the end of 1936,7,000 Germans were in Spain. The Nationalists were supported by German units and equipment during the Battle of Madrid, the fighting demonstrated the inadequacy of the Legions aircraft compared to superior Soviet-made fighters. The War in the North was supported by a constantly re-equipping Condor Legion, in Operation Rügen, waves of planes bombed and strafed targets in Guernica leaving 1,685 people dead and over 900 injured. The offensive on Bilbao was supported by units and extensive air operations. It proved the worth of the Legion to the Nationalist cause, the Legion also took part in the Battle of Brunete and both land and air forces were involved in the Battle of Teruel

5.
Battle of Guadalajara
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The Battle of Guadalajara saw the Peoples Republican Army defeat Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist forces involved in the Battle of Guadalajara were primarily the Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops, the battle opened with an Italian offensive on 8 March. This offensive was halted by 11 March, between 12 March and 14 March, renewed Italian attacks were supported by Spanish Nationalist units. On 15 March, a Republican counter-offensive was prepared, the Republicans successfully launched their counter-offensive from 18 March to 23 March. After the collapse of the offensive on Madrid, Spanish Nationalist General Francisco Franco decided to continue with a fourth offensive aimed at closing the pincer around the capital. The Nationalist forces, although victorious at the Battle of the Jarama River, were exhausted, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini endorsed the operation and committed Italian units to it. The Italian commander, General Mario Roatta, planned to surround the defences of Madrid from the north-west, after joining the Spanish Nationalist corps Madrid on the Jarama River, they would begin the assault on Madrid. The Italian forces would execute the main attack, the Spanish division Soria was present to secure the operation, but played no part in the first five days of fighting. The main attack began in the 25 km-wide pass at Guadalajara-Alcalá de Henares and this region was well suited for an advance, as there were five roads of high quality running through it. Three other roads in the led to Guadalajara, allowing for the possibility of capturing this town as well. The Nationalist forces had 35,000 soldiers,222 artillery pieces,108 L3/33 tankettes and L3/35 tankettes,32 armoured cars,3,685 motor vehicles, the Italian tankettes and armoured cars were organized as the Tank and Armoured Cars Group. The Italian aircraft were organized into the Legionary Air Force, the Republican presence in the Guadalajara region consisted only of the 12th Division of the Peoples Republican Army under Colonel Lacalle. He had under his command 10,000 soldiers with only 5,900 rifles,85 machine guns, one company of T-26 light tanks were also sent to the area. No defensive works had been constructed in the Guadalajara region, because it was regarded as a part of the front. The Peoples Republican Army staff was sure that the next Fascist offensive would come from the south, after 30 minutes artillery fire and air raids on the Republican positions, the Italians began advancing towards the 50th Republican brigade. Led by tankettes, they broke through the Republican line and their assault then slowed down, mainly because fog and sleet had reduced visibility down to 100 metres in places. The Italians captured 10 to 12 km of terrain, including the towns of Mirabueno, Alaminos, falling back, the Republican commander requested infantry reinforcements and the company of tanks. The Nationalists continued their assault on Republican positions, the main attack was carried out with tanks, but was again bogged down by poor performance and low visibility

6.
Second Spanish Republic
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The Second Spanish Republic was the republican regime that existed in Spain from 1931 to 1939. Following the Provisional Government between April and December 1931, the 1931 Constitution established the Republic, the Spanish Republic can be divided in three eras, the First Biennium, the Dark Biennium, and the Popular Front government. The Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed when King Alfonso XIII left the following municipal elections where anti-monarchist candidates won the majority of votes. Its government went into exile on 1 April 1939, when the last of the Republican forces surrendered to the rebel nacionales, the government in exile of the Second Spanish Republic had an embassy in Mexico City until 1976. After the restoration of democracy in Spain, the government formally dissolved the following year, on 28 January 1930 the military dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera was overthrown. This led various republican factions from a variety of backgrounds to join forces. The Pact of San Sebastián was the key to the transition from monarchy to republic, Republicans of all tendencies were committed to the Pact of San Sebastian in overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic. The restoration of the royal Bourbons was rejected by large sectors of the populace who vehemently opposed the King, the pact, signed by representatives of the main Republican forces, allowed a joint anti-monarchy political campaign. The 12 April 1931 municipal elections led to a victory for republicans. Two days later, the Second Republic was proclaimed, and King Alfonso XIII went into exile, the kings departure led to a provisional government of the young republic under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora. Catholic churches and establishments in cities like Madrid and Sevilla were set ablaze on 11 May, in June 1931 a Constituent Cortes was elected to draft a new constitution, which came into force in December. The new constitution established freedom of speech and freedom of association, extended suffrage to women in 1933, allowed divorce and it also effectively disestablished the Roman Catholic Church, but the disestablishment was somewhat reversed by the Cortes that same year. Its controversial articles 26 and 27 imposed stringent controls on Church property, scholars have described the constitution as hostile to religion, with one scholar characterising it as one of the most hostile of the 20th century. José Ortega y Gasset stated, the article in which the Constitution legislates the actions of the Church seems highly improper to me, pope Pius XI condemned the Spanish governments deprivation of the civil liberties of Catholics in the encyclical Dilectissima Nobis. The legislative branch was changed to a chamber called the Congress of Deputies. The constitution established legal procedures for the nationalisation of public services and land, banks, the constitution provided generally accorded civil liberties and representation. Catholic churches in cities were again subject to arson in 1932. A Catholic church in Zaragoza saw arson in 1933, and the cathedral in Oviedo was destroyed by flames in 1934, the church of San Lorenzo in Gijon was set ablaze in this year as well

7.
Siege of Madrid
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The Siege of Madrid was a two and a half year siege of the Spanish capital city of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. The city, besieged from October 1936, eventually fell to the Francoist armies on 28 March 1939, Madrid was held by various forces loyal to the Spanish Republic and was besieged and subject to aerial bombardment by the rebel faction under General Francisco Franco. The Battle of Madrid in November 1936 saw the most intense fighting in, the Spanish Civil War began with a failed coup détat against the Popular Front Government of the Spanish Republic by right-wing Spanish Army officers led by Francisco Franco on 18 July 1936. In Madrid, the Republican government was unsure of what to do, on 18 July, the government sent units of the Guardia Civil to Seville to put down the rebellion there. However, on reaching the city the guardias defected to the insurgents, on 19 July Santiago Casares Quiroga resigned as Prime Minister, to be succeeded by Diego Martinez Barrio. He tried to arrange a truce with the insurgent general Emilio Mola by telephone, Giral agreed to arm the trade unionists in defence of the Republic, and had 60,000 rifles delivered to the CNT and UGT headquarters, although only 5,000 were in working order. In a radio broadcast on the 18th, the communist leader Dolores Ibarruri coined the famous slogan ¡No pasarán, the slogan was to become synonymous with the defence of Madrid and the Republican cause in general. At the same time, General Joaquín Fanjul, commander of the garrison based in Montaña barracks in Madrid, was preparing to launch the military rebellion in the city. However, when he tried to out of the barracks, his 2,500 troops were forced back inside the compound by hostile crowds. Eventually the barracks fell when the Guardias de Asalto brought up a 75 mm field gun to bombard the complex, the sergeant was killed by one of his officers, but his action allowed the Republicans to breach the walls. A number of soldiers were massacred by the crowd, enraged by the apparent false surrenders, thereafter and for the remainder of the war, Madrid was held by the Republicans. However, its population contained a significant number of right-wing sympathisers, over 20,000 right-wingers sought refuge in foreign embassies in the city. The weeks that followed the July uprising, saw a number of fascists, for example, on 23 August 70 prisoners from the Model Prison in the city were massacred in revenge for the Nationalist killing of over 1,500 Republicans after the storming of Badajoz. The initial strategy of the plot had been to assume power all over the country in the manner of a Pronunciamiento of the 19th century. However, the resistance to the coup by Republicans meant that instead of this, Franco, Franco himself had landed in Algeciras in southern Spain with Moroccan troops from the Spanish Army of Africa. Mola, who was in command of the troops as well as the Spanish Foreign Legion and Carlist and Falangist militia. Together, they planned a Drive on Madrid to take the Spanish capital, Franco advancing from Badajoz, Francos veteran colonial troops, or regulares, under General Yague, along with air cover supplied by Nazi Germany, routed the Republican militias in their path. Yague argued for an advance on Madrid, but Franco overruled him in favour of relieving the Nationalist troops besieged in Toledo

8.
Regulares
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The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas, known simply as the Regulares, were the volunteer infantry and cavalry units of the Spanish Army recruited in Spanish Morocco. They consisted of Moroccans officered by Spaniards and these Moroccan troops played a significant role in the Spanish Civil War. The Regulares were first raised in 1911 as a batallón indígena of infantry and their formation came at a time when the Spanish army was expanding into the Moroccan hinterland from the long held coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Officers and some NCOs were seconded from Peninsular regiments, by 1914 four Groups had been raised for active service. While the Regulares remained predominantly infantry, recognition of Moroccan skills as horsemen led to the establishment of cavalry squadrons and this mounted element of the Regulares was to remain a conspicuous feature throughout the period of Spanish rule of the protectorate. As such, each Group was composed of a headquarters and service company, from 1914 to 1922 the Regulares were expanded in numbers to five Grupos based respectively in Melilla, Tetuán, Ceuta, Alhucemas and Larache. In 1923 a detachment of the Fuerzas Regulares de Ceuta mounted guard at the Royal Palace in Madrid,1923 was the year in which the reactionary General Miguel Primo de Rivera became dictator of Spain, ruling in the Kings name. In 1934 cavalry and infantry of the Regulares were brought to peninsular Spain by the Republican Government to assist in the suppression of the rising by Asturian miners that year. In 1936 the Spanish Army of Africa were made part of the led by General Franco against the Republican Government in Madrid. The professionalism and brutality of the Army of Africa played a part in early Nationalist successes. As the war continued five more grupos of Regulares infantry were raised two of cavalry. The Regulares with their experience of North African warfare proved to be excellent combatants in the countryside while advancing from Seville to Madrid during August - November 1936. However they subsequently proved less adapt at street fighting in urban environments. With the raising of substantial Nationalist forces in mainland Spain the role of the Regulares diminished, conspicuous in Francos victory parade in Madrid in 1939, the Regulares were the most decorated units of the Nationalist forces. The numbers of the Army of Africa doubled in the course of the war to about 60,000, following the Nationalist victory the Regulares were reduced in number but retained their structure. With the independence of Morocco in 1956 the majority of the Moroccan personnel of the Regulares, the two cavalry units were disbanded and the Groups were reduced to just eight. In 1957 Francos ceremonial guard in Madrid, the Guarda Mora, were replaced by an escort of Spanish cavalry who retained the white cloaks, in recent years detachments of Regulares have served in both Bosnia and Afghanistan. Tabor is the given to the Regulares constituent battalions of infantry

9.
Bombing of Guernica
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The bombing of Guernica was an aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The town was being used as a communications center behind the frontline, the attack gained infamy because it involved the deliberate targeting of civilians by a military air force. The number of victims is still disputed, the Basque government reported 1,654 people killed at the time, an English source used by the Air War College claims 400 civilians died. Russian archives reveal 800 deaths on 1 May 1937, but this number may not include victims who died of their injuries in hospitals or whose bodies were discovered buried in the rubble. The bombing is the subject of a famous painting by Pablo Picasso. It was also depicted in a woodcut by the German artist Heinz Kiwitz, there is also a short film from 1950 by Alain Resnais entitled Guernica. Guernica, in the Basque province of Biscay, and 30 kilometres east of Bilbao, has long been a centre of great significance to the Basque people. Its Gernikako Arbola is an oak tree that symbolizes traditional freedoms for the Biscayan people and, by extension, not only was Guernica considered the identity of Basque, but it was also considered the spiritual capital of Basque people. Guernica has always celebrated as the home of Basque liberties. Guernica was also the location of the Spanish weapons manufacturer Astra-Unceta y Cía, at the time of the bombing, the population of Guernica was 7,000 people, and the battlefront was 30 kilometres away. Advances by Nationalist troops led by Generalísimo Francisco Franco had eaten into the controlled by the Republican Government. The Basque Government, a regional administrative body formed by Basque nationalists, sought to defend Biscay. At the time of the raid, Guernica represented a strategic point for the Republican forces. It stood between the Nationalists and capture of Bilbao, Bilbao was seen as key to bringing the war to a conclusion in the north of Spain. Guernica also was the path of retreat for the Republicans from the northeast of Biscay. The town also housed two Basque army battalions, although it had no air defenses, and it was thought that no air cover could be expected due to recent losses of the Republican Air Force. Monday 26 April was market day, there were more than 10,000 people in the former Basque capital, generally speaking, a market day would have attracted people from the surrounding areas to Guernica to conduct business. Market days consisted of farmers bringing in their crops to sell to the village people

10.
Francoist Spain
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It is the opinion of several historians that during the Spanish Civil War, Francos goal was to turn Spain into a totalitarian state based on fascism like Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Franco was also able to take advantage of the resources of the Axis Powers, Francos regime evolved into a more classic autocratic regime. The Spanish Civil War started as a coup by the Spanish military on the peninsula, the coup escalated into a civil war lasting for three years once Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany agreed to support Franco, starting with airlifting of the africanistas onto the mainland. However, the Falange remained the party throughout Francos regime and its ideology, National Syndicalism. At the end of the Spanish Civil War, according to the regimes own figures, there were more than 270,000 men and women held in prisons, large numbers of those captured were returned to Spain or interned in Nazi concentration camps as stateless enemies. Between six and seven thousand exiles from Spain died in Mauthausen and it has been estimated that more than 200,000 Spaniards died in the first years of the dictatorship, from 1940–42, as a result of political repression, hunger, and disease related to the conflict. This changed with the Cold War that soon followed the end of hostilities in 1945, independent political parties and trade unions were banned throughout the duration of the dictatorship. On July 26,1947 Spain was declared a kingdom, Franco was to be succeeded by his Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco as head of government with the intention of continuing the Francoist regime, but those hopes ended with his 1973 assassination. With the death of Franco on 20 November 1975, Juan Carlos became the King of Spain and he initiated the countrys subsequent transition to democracy, ending with Spain becoming a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. After Francos victory in 1939, the Falange was declared the legal party in Spain. The Organic Law made the government ultimately responsible for passing all laws, as all ministers were appointed and dismissed by Franco as the Chief of state and government, he was effectively the only source of legislation. The law of national referendums, passed in 1945 approved for all laws to be approved by a popular referendum. Local municipal councils were appointed similarly by heads of families and local corporations through elections, however, Carrero Blanco was assassinated on the same year and Franco named a civilian, Carlos Arias Navarro as the countrys new Prime Minister. Concerns about the situation, Spains possible entry into World War II. The army maintained a strength of about 400,000 men until the end of the war, Spain attempted to retain control of the last remnants of its colonial empire throughout Francos rule. During the Algerian War, Madrid became the base of the Organisation armée secrète right-wing French Army group which sought to preserve French Algeria, despite this, Franco was forced to make some concessions. Henceforth, when French Morocco became independent in 1956, he surrendered Spanish Morocco to Mohammed V, the year after, Mohammed V invaded Spanish Sahara during the Ifni War. Only in 1975, with the Green March and the military occupation, in 1968, under United Nations pressure, Franco granted Spains colony of Equatorial Guinea its independence, and the next year, ceded the exclave of Ifni to Morocco

Twenty-six republicans that were assassinated by fascists who belonged to Franco's Nationalists side at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, between August and September 1936. This mass grave is placed at the small town named Estépar, in Burgos, northern Spain. The excavation occurred in July–August 2014.